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Curling and Inertia

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  Document Type: Lesson Plan
  Lesson Plan Type: Video,Interactive Instruction
  Subject: Science
  Grade Level: 6,7,8
  Time: 80 minutes
  Last Updated: 02-11-2010
     
  Keywords:
     
     
 
Created/Provided by:
NBC Learn
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CALIFORNIA STATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED

Science/9/Physics
1.0 Newton's laws predict the motion of most objects. As a basis for understanding this concept: a. Students know how to solve problems that involve constant speed and average speed. b. Students know that when forces are balanced, no acceleration occurs; thus an object continues to move at a constant speed or stays at rest (Newton's first law). c. Students know how to apply the law F=ma to solve one-dimensional motion problems that involve constant forces (Newton's second law). d. Students know that when one object exerts a force on a second object, the second object always exerts a force of equal magnitude and in the opposite direction (Newton's third law). e. Students know the relationship between the universal law of gravitation and the effect of gravity on an object at the surface of Earth. f. Students know applying a force to an object perpendicular to the direction of its motion causes the object to change direction but not speed (e.g., Earth's gravitational force causes a satellite in a circular orbit to change direction but not speed). g. Students know circular motion requires the application of a constant force directed toward the center of the circle. h. * Students know Newton's laws are not exact but provide very good approximations unless an object is moving close to the speed of light or is small enough that quantum effects are important. i. * Students know how to solve two-dimensional trajectory problems. j. * Students know how to resolve two-dimensional vectors into their components and calculate the magnitude and direction of a vector from its components. k. * Students know how to solve two-dimensional problems involving balanced forces (statics). l. * Students know how to solve problems in circular motion by using the formula for centripetal acceleration in the following form: a=v2/r. m. * Students know how to solve problems involving the forces between two electric charges at a distance (Coulomb's law) or the forces between two masses at a distance (universal gravitation).
2.0 The laws of conservation of energy and momentum provide a way to predict and describe the movement of objects. As a basis for understanding this concept: a. Students know how to calculate kinetic energy by using the formula E=(1/2)mv2 . b. Students know how to calculate changes in gravitational potential energy near Earth by using the formula (change in potential energy) =mgh (h is the change in the elevation). c. Students know how to solve problems involving conservation of energy in simple systems, such as falling objects. d. Students know how to calculate momentum as the product mv. e. Students know momentum is a separately conserved quantity different from energy. f. Students know an unbalanced force on an object produces a change in its momentum. g. Students know how to solve problems involving elastic and inelastic collisions in one dimension by using the principles of conservation of momentum and energy. h. * Students know how to solve problems involving conservation of energy in simple systems with various sources of potential energy, such as capacitors and springs.
 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
Through class discussion and a fun demonstration, students will review what they know about inertia. Students will then set up collisions with marbles and a stationary cup to explore the relationship between mass and inertia.

  

 
PROCEDURES
 
Goal(s):
Through experimentation, students will learn how the mass of an object at rest affects its tendency to remain at rest. Students will learn how the mass of an object in motion affects its tendency to remain in motion. Students will express Newton’s law of inertia. Finally students will apply concepts of inertia to explain the role of a seatbelt in an automobile accident.
 
Specific Objectives:
Students will be able to:
  1. Express how an object’s mass affects its tendency to stay at rest.
  2. Express how an object’s mass affects its tendency to remain in motion.
  3. Express the law of inertia.
  4. Use the law of inertia to explain why people should wear seatbelts.
 
Required Materials:
For introduction activity 1:
(sets for each group)
  • Cup
  • penny
  • a glossy playing card
For activity 2:
(set for each group)
  • 2 meter sticks
  • enough books or other apparatus to raise incline
  • plastic drinking cup
  • 4 pennies
  • marble
  • tape
  • lined notebook paper
  • scissors or device to cut cups
For activity 3:
  • 2 more marbles
 
Anticipatory Set (Lead-in):
Raise your hand if you have ever heard of the sport of curling? In this lesson we will be learning about one of the most fundamental laws of physics and how it applies to curling and seatbelts. First, we will explore the physics of a common “magic” trick.
 
Lesson Plan Procedure:
Note: This lesson assumes some familiarity with forces. Depending upon the class, you may need to review gravity and normal forces.

Part 1: Intro Activity (20 minutes)
  1. Place the card over the cup and the penny on top of it.
  2. Ask students to sketch the forces on the penny, or have a student come up to the board and draw the forces. Discuss the balance of the situation, that the downward gravitational force on the penny is equal in size to the upward force of the card on the penny.
  3. While the students fill out the Introduction to Inertia Activity 1 worksheet, walk them through the “magic” trick. Ask them how to get the penny in the cup as quickly as possible without touching the penny. The students will probably know what to do (flick the card).
  4. Discuss the physics, balanced and unbalanced forces as they answer the questions in the activity 1 worksheet.  The card has little friction; Once the card is gone, there is an unbalanced situation and the penny falls down due to gravity; The penny speeds up until the cup applies an upward force on the it; Upon stopping the forces are again balanced.
  5. Discuss the answers to activity 1 worksheet.
  6. Tell the students to look for balanced and unbalanced force situations in the NBC Learns Video: Curling.
  7. Show Video and briefly discuss.

Part 2
Activity II (30 minutes)
(Note: It is recommended that you practice activities II and III before the lesson to get ideas and tips for better results.)
  1. Demonstrate for the students how to build a ramp with the 2 meter sticks and the books.
  2. Place cup at the bottom of the ramp on a piece of lined paper (use a pencil to draw a circle at the base of the cup so that it will be possible to measure how much it travels.)
  3. Cut a hole in the cup so that the marble will roll into it.
  4. Adjust the ramp height and position so that the cup will move several centimeters without tipping over.
  5. Have students perform several trials and record the distance the cup travels. (The measurements will likely be very different between trials and between groups due to many uncontrolled variables in the set-up.)
  6. Repeat the previous step with 2 pennies taped to the cup, then 4 pennies, then 6 pennies.
  7. Create a table of values and calculate averages.
  8. Have students write a conclusion about the relationship between the mass of the cup and its tendency to remain at rest.

Activity III (30 minutes)
Lower the ramp about ½ way
  1. In this activity you will compare the average distance traveled by the cup when one marble is rolled, then 2 marbles, then, if possible, 3 marbles. In this step, the cup mass is not changed. (Note: this step may be a bit tricky and the hole in the cup may need to be cut a bit larger.
  2. Have students write a conclusion about the relationship between the mass of the cup and its tendency to remain at rest.
  3. Discuss as a class the conclusions and ask students to combine their 2 conclusions into one statement.
  4. Use the results of the three activities to discuss/formulate a working definition of inertia (an object’s resistance to changes in its motion, and directly proportional to an objects mass) and, of course, the law of inertia. (Note, there are many forms of the law of inertia, a.k.a. Newton’s First Law. One that may be appropriate for this activity is the following “an object will persist in its state of motion until it is acted upon by an unbalanced force”.)
 
Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set):
Ask students to explain how the class activities relate to the sport of curling. Ask them to think about other situations where the law of inertia plays an important role. Finally, explain that for homework (or in class if there is still time) they will need to think and write about the role of inertia in automobile accidents and it will be discussed the next day in class.
 
Assessments & notes
 
Plan for Independent Practice:
If there is time in class, or as homework, have students summarize what they learned in the activity. Ask them to use the law of inertia to explain why seatbelts can help prevent deadly injuries.
 
Assessment Based on Objectives:
Quiz: Inertia and the Physics of Curling and Car Crashes
 
Possible Connections to Other Subjects:
Language Arts: Students can research and write about Isaac Newton’s contributions to science and the world.

Math: Students can create bar graphs of their results.
 
Adaptations & Extensions:
Have students devise other experiments to analyze and demonstrate the relationship between mass and inertia.
 
Additional Notes:
This lesson assumes familiarity with gravitational forces and normal forces.

Based on an activity from Rice University: http://schoolscience.rice.edu/
 
 
 
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Submitted by NBCLearn on Thu, 01/21/2010 - 23:44


Title:

Curling and Inertia

Grade Level:

6,7,8

Subject:

Science

Author:

nbclearn

Time:

80 minutes

Lesson Plan Type:

Video,Interactive Instruction

Keywords:

Inertia, Newton’s First Law, Collision, Force, Balanced Force, Unbalanced Force, olympics

Brief Description:

Through class discussion and a fun demonstration, students will review what they know about inertia. Students will then set up collisions with marbles and a stationary cup to explore the relationship between mass and inertia.

  


California State Standards Addressed:

Science/9/Physics)1.0,2.0

Related Links:

Link 1:

Goal(s):

Through experimentation, students will learn how the mass of an object at rest affects its tendency to remain at rest. Students will learn how the mass of an object in motion affects its tendency to remain in motion. Students will express Newton’s law of inertia. Finally students will apply concepts of inertia to explain the role of a seatbelt in an automobile accident.

Specific Objectives:

Students will be able to:
  1. Express how an object’s mass affects its tendency to stay at rest.
  2. Express how an object’s mass affects its tendency to remain in motion.
  3. Express the law of inertia.
  4. Use the law of inertia to explain why people should wear seatbelts.

Required Materials:

For introduction activity 1:
(sets for each group)
  • Cup
  • penny
  • a glossy playing card
For activity 2:
(set for each group)
  • 2 meter sticks
  • enough books or other apparatus to raise incline
  • plastic drinking cup
  • 4 pennies
  • marble
  • tape
  • lined notebook paper
  • scissors or device to cut cups
For activity 3:
  • 2 more marbles

Anticipatory Set (Lead-in):

Raise your hand if you have ever heard of the sport of curling? In this lesson we will be learning about one of the most fundamental laws of physics and how it applies to curling and seatbelts. First, we will explore the physics of a common “magic” trick.

Lesson Plan Procedure:

Note: This lesson assumes some familiarity with forces. Depending upon the class, you may need to review gravity and normal forces.

Part 1: Intro Activity (20 minutes)
  1. Place the card over the cup and the penny on top of it.
  2. Ask students to sketch the forces on the penny, or have a student come up to the board and draw the forces. Discuss the balance of the situation, that the downward gravitational force on the penny is equal in size to the upward force of the card on the penny.
  3. While the students fill out the Introduction to Inertia Activity 1 worksheet, walk them through the “magic” trick. Ask them how to get the penny in the cup as quickly as possible without touching the penny. The students will probably know what to do (flick the card).
  4. Discuss the physics, balanced and unbalanced forces as they answer the questions in the activity 1 worksheet.  The card has little friction; Once the card is gone, there is an unbalanced situation and the penny falls down due to gravity; The penny speeds up until the cup applies an upward force on the it; Upon stopping the forces are again balanced.
  5. Discuss the answers to activity 1 worksheet.
  6. Tell the students to look for balanced and unbalanced force situations in the NBC Learns Video: Curling.
  7. Show Video and briefly discuss.

Part 2
Activity II (30 minutes)
(Note: It is recommended that you practice activities II and III before the lesson to get ideas and tips for better results.)
  1. Demonstrate for the students how to build a ramp with the 2 meter sticks and the books.
  2. Place cup at the bottom of the ramp on a piece of lined paper (use a pencil to draw a circle at the base of the cup so that it will be possible to measure how much it travels.)
  3. Cut a hole in the cup so that the marble will roll into it.
  4. Adjust the ramp height and position so that the cup will move several centimeters without tipping over.
  5. Have students perform several trials and record the distance the cup travels. (The measurements will likely be very different between trials and between groups due to many uncontrolled variables in the set-up.)
  6. Repeat the previous step with 2 pennies taped to the cup, then 4 pennies, then 6 pennies.
  7. Create a table of values and calculate averages.
  8. Have students write a conclusion about the relationship between the mass of the cup and its tendency to remain at rest.

Activity III (30 minutes)
Lower the ramp about ½ way
  1. In this activity you will compare the average distance traveled by the cup when one marble is rolled, then 2 marbles, then, if possible, 3 marbles. In this step, the cup mass is not changed. (Note: this step may be a bit tricky and the hole in the cup may need to be cut a bit larger.
  2. Have students write a conclusion about the relationship between the mass of the cup and its tendency to remain at rest.
  3. Discuss as a class the conclusions and ask students to combine their 2 conclusions into one statement.
  4. Use the results of the three activities to discuss/formulate a working definition of inertia (an object’s resistance to changes in its motion, and directly proportional to an objects mass) and, of course, the law of inertia. (Note, there are many forms of the law of inertia, a.k.a. Newton’s First Law. One that may be appropriate for this activity is the following “an object will persist in its state of motion until it is acted upon by an unbalanced force”.)

Closure (Reflect Anticipatory Set):

Ask students to explain how the class activities relate to the sport of curling. Ask them to think about other situations where the law of inertia plays an important role. Finally, explain that for homework (or in class if there is still time) they will need to think and write about the role of inertia in automobile accidents and it will be discussed the next day in class.

Plan for Independent Practice:

If there is time in class, or as homework, have students summarize what they learned in the activity. Ask them to use the law of inertia to explain why seatbelts can help prevent deadly injuries.

Assessment Based on Objectives:

Quiz: Inertia and the Physics of Curling and Car Crashes

Possible Connections to Other Subjects:

Language Arts: Students can research and write about Isaac Newton’s contributions to science and the world.

Math: Students can create bar graphs of their results.


Adaptations and Extensions:

Have students devise other experiments to analyze and demonstrate the relationship between mass and inertia.

Additional Notes:

This lesson assumes familiarity with gravitational forces and normal forces.

Based on an activity from Rice University: http://schoolscience.rice.edu/



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